Summit County Biographies

Doyle, Dayton A.

Hon. Dayton A. Doyle was for a quarter of a century one of the prominent attorneys of the Akron bar, being member of one of the most prominent law firms of that section of the state. He also served as judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

Judge Doyle was born in Summit County, September 27, 1856, and died February 28, 1920. His parents, William B. and Harriet S. Doyle, were early settlers in Summit County. His father was a pioneer in the lumber business in Northern Ohio. Dayton A. Doyle acquired a public school education, graduating from the Akron High School in 1874, and in 1878 received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Buchtel College of Akron. He then entered the Cincinnati Law School, graduating Bachelor of Laws in 1880 and being admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court at Columbus on May 27, 1880. Subsequently Buchtel College bestowed upon him the degree Doctor of Laws. For several years he was one of the trustees of Buchtel College.

Judge Doyle opened his law offices in 1885, in partnership with Maj. Frederick C. Bryan. In the same year he was elected city solicitor, an office he held until 1889. Charles Dick became a member of the law firm, and the firm of Dick, Doyle & Bryan was one of the highest standing and continued until Mr. Dick was elected to represent Ohio in the United States Senate. From 1898 to 1906 Judge Doyle was referee in bankruptcy in Summit County, and in the latter year was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the Eighth Subdivision of the Fourth Judicial District. He was reelected in 1912, and completed two terms in the office, retiring in 1918.

Other activities serve to make his name notable in the citizenship of Summit County. He was the first president of the Summit County Bank, which was later consolidated with the Ohio State Bank and Trust Company, one of the largest banking institutions of Summit County. For many years he was president of the Glendale Cemetery Association, and was a director of a number of other organizations. The social and fraternal organizations in which he was active included the Elks, Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was one of the original members of the Summit County Bar Association and was active in the First Methodist Church.

Judge Doyle possessed estimable quantities of mind and heart, and exemplified those attributes found in the successful practitioner and able and important jurist. Equipped with nature's best endowments, supplemented by an intellectual and legal training acquired by a life of industry and study, he brought to his judicial duties all those qualities which served to make for him an enviable record as a judge. He was diligent and painstaking in his work, and was intellectually and judicially honest with himself as well as with the body of the public which he served faithfully and well in various positions of public trust. As a citizen he was patriotic; in his personal relations, of good conduct and example, and he left behind him achievements worthy of the ambition of those who are to succeed him in the fulfillment of the duties and responsibilities of life.

On April 23, 1884, Judge Doyle married Miss Ida M. Westfall. He was survived by his wife and six children, the children being Dayton A. Jr., Arthur W., Frank (who passed away January 23, 1924, at St. Augustine, Florida), Mrs. Harold Dalzell, Miss Harriet K. and Miss Ruth.

History of Ohio, The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, Volume IV